Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Tuesday directed officials to issue public notices for abandoned vehicles and auction those that remain unclaimed for 15 days after being towed and served notices.
The Minister chaired a virtual meeting and instructed city corporation officials to prepare corporation-wise action plans and operational schedules to accelerate the removal of abandoned vehicles from roadsides and public spaces across the five city corporations. He also directed officials to ensure strict monitoring of field-level staff.
Mr. Byre Gowda directed the police department and city corporations to work together during the drive. Officials were asked to maintain accurate records of identified, towed, and released vehicles.
To strengthen enforcement, the Minister directed that each traffic police station deploy two dedicated personnel exclusively for the abandoned vehicle removal drive. Marshals will also accompany ward officers while issuing notices to vehicle owners.
700 km footpaths reclaimed
Mr. Byre Gowda said encroachments have been cleared from 773 km of footpaths across Bengaluru and directed officials to continue the drive. He also instructed them to impose penalties on repeat encroachers.
He also expressed concern over vehicles being parked on cleared footpaths and instructed officials to prevent such violations. Wherever feasible, wider footpaths should be developed into aesthetically designed public spaces without compromising pedestrian movement, he said. The Minister also instructed officials to carry out footpath repairs simultaneously with encroachment removal and expedite pending tenders.
Karthik Reddy, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said 6,576 abandoned vehicles have been identified across Bengaluru, including 2,533 by the police and 4,043 based on citizen complaints. Notices have been served on 1,605 vehicles, while 263 have been towed. Vehicle owners have paid ₹2.16 lakh in penalties to reclaim their vehicles.
Published - August 04, 2026 07:26 pm IST